Syracuse, N.Y. -- A former Upstate Medical University doctor and long-time faculty member has agreed to stop practicing medicine to settle a charge of professional misconduct.

Dr. John P. DeSimone agreed to the penalty in a signed consent agreement with the state Board for Professional Medical Conduct. The board published that agreement and related documents on its Web site.

The board accused him of practicing negligently on more than one occasion by not screening patients for cancer or adequately evaluating them for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.

DeSimone did not contest the charge.

DeSimone retired from Upstate in 2006 after working there 36 years. He was an associate professor of family medicine at Upstate and saw patients in its family medicine practice. He also previously served as director of the family practice residency program at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center.

James Lantier, DeSimone’s attorney, said DeSimone decided not to challenge the charge because he had already retired.

He said DeSimone’s doubts about the value of PSA testing in adult men triggered the case.

PSA — short for prostate-specific antigen — is a protein produced by cells of the prostate gland. Elevated levels of PSA in the blood can be an indicator of prostate cancer.

“There’s a major split of opinion in the medical community over PSA testing in males,” Lantier said. “The school of thought he belongs to is that there have been no objective studies or proof to indicate that routine PSA testing has reduced the mortality rate from prostate cancer. Others are of the opinion it’s a cheap easy test so do it anyway.”

As part of the penalty, DeSimone must keep his medical license in the “inactive” status.

The board also took disciplinary action against two other local doctors.

It issued a censure and reprimand against Dr. Jeanette Perry, a family medicine practitioner. In a signed consent agreement she did not contest a charge of practicing negligently on more than one occasion.

The board accused her of failing to appropriately manage the delivery of a patient’s baby at Community General Hospital and manage the use of Pitocin, a medicine used to induce labor.

The board also imposed a permanent limitation on the medical license of Dr. James M. Kowalczyk, an anesthesiologist and pain management doctor with a practice in Syracuse.

In a signed consent agreement, Kowalczyk did not contest the charge of failing to maintain adequate records. As part of the limitation on his license, Kowalczyk cannot issue prescriptions to or order controlled substances for himself or members of his immediate or extended family.